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albums
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- UHF: Original Soundtrack
- Released 1989
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- Whatever You Like
- Released 2008
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- Poodle Hat
- Released 2003
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- Running With Scissors
- Released 1999
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biography
The foremost song parodist of the MTV era, "Weird Al" Yankovic carried the torch of musical humor more proudly and more successfully than any performer since Allan Sherman. In the world of novelty records -- a genre noted for its extensive back catalog of flashes-in-the-pan and one-hit wonders -- Yankovic was king, scoring smash after smash over the course of an enduring career which found him topically mocking everything from new wave to gangsta rap.
Alfred Matthew Yankovic was born October 23, 1959, in Lynwood, CA. An only child, he began playing the accordion at age seven, following in the tradition of polka star Frank Yankovic (no relation); in his early teens he became an avid fan of the Dr. Demento show, drawing inspiration from the parodies of Allan Sherman as well as the musical comedy of Spike Jones, Tom Lehrer, and Stan Freberg. In 1973 Demento spoke at Yankovic's school, where the 13 year old passed the radio host a demo tape of home recordings; three years later, Demento played Yankovic's "Belvedere Cruising" -- an accordion-driven pop song written about the family's Plymouth -- on the air, and his career was launched.
Yankovic quickly emerged as a staple of the Demento play list, recording a prodigious amount of tongue-in-cheek material throughout his high-school career. After graduation, he studied architecture; while attending California Polytechnic State University, he also joined the staff of the campus radio station, first adopting the nickname "Weird Al" and spinning a mixture of novelty and new wave hits. In 1979, the success of the Knack's monster hit "My Sharona" inspired Yankovic to record a parody dubbed "My Bologna"; not only was the song a smash with Demento fans, but it even found favor with the Knack themselves, who convinced their label, Capitol, to issue the satire as a single.
After graduating in 1980, Yankovic cut "Another One Rides the Bus," a parody of Queen's chart-topping "Another One Bites the Dust" recorded live in Dr. Demento's studios; the song became an underground hit, and Yankovic followed it up with "I Love Rocky Road," a satire of Joan Jett & the Blackhearts' "I Love Rock 'n Roll." After hooking up with noted session guitarist and producer Rick Derringer, he signed to Scotti Bros., which issued his debut LP, "Weird Al" Yankovic, in 1983. The album featured the song "Ricky," a tune inspired equally by Toni Basil's hit "Mickey" and the I Love Lucy television series; issued as a single, it hit the Top 100 charts, and its accompanying video became a staple of the fledgling MTV network.
Ultimately, much of Yankovic's success resulted from his skilled use of music video, a medium not available in the era of Spike Jones or Allan Sherman; suddenly, not only could records themselves serve as parody fodder, but their video clips were ripe for satire as well. Additionally, MTV firmly established Yankovic's public persona; sporting garish Hawaiian shirts, frizzy hair, and an arsenal of goofy mannerisms, he cut a distinctly bizarre figure which he consistently exploited to maximum comic effect. After Michael Jackson's "Beat It" became the most acclaimed video in the medium's brief history, Yankovic recorded "Eat It" for his sophomore effort, 1984's "Weird" Al Yankovic in 3-D; the "Eat It" video, which mocked the "Beat It" clip scene-for-scene, became an MTV smash, and the Grammy-winning single reached the Top 15.
In addition to "Eat It," In 3-D also launched the minor hits "King of Suede" (a rewrite of the Police's "King of Pain") and "I Lost on Jeopardy" (a send-up of the Greg Kihn Band's "Jeopardy"), as well as "Polkas on 45," the first in a series of medleys of pop hits recast as polka numbers. Dare to Be Stupid, the first comedy record ever released in the new compact disc format, followed in 1985, and featured "Like a Surgeon," a takeoff of the Madonna hit "Like a Virgin." Like its predecessor, Dare to Be Stupid went gold, but 1986's Polka Party! fared poorly and charted only briefly, prompting many to write off Yankovic's career.
However, in 1988, Yankovic returned with the platinum-selling Even Worse, its title and album cover a reference to Michael Jackson's recent Bad LP. "I'm Fat," the first single and video, also parodied the lavish Martin Scorsese-directed clip for Jackson's hit "Bad"; shot on the same subway set used by Jackson, the video -- which portrayed Yankovic as a grotesquely obese tough guy -- won him his second Grammy. The next year, he starred in the feature film UHF, which he also co-wrote; a soundtrack appeared as well.
After an extended period of silence, he returned in 1992 with Off the Deep End, which featured the Top 40 hit "Smells Like Nirvana," a send-up of Nirvana's landmark single "Smells Like Teen Spirit." After 1993's Alapalooza, he resurfaced in 1996 with Bad Hair Day, his highest-charting record to date thanks to the success of the single "Amish Paradise," a takeoff of the Coolio hit "Gangsta's Paradise." The follow-up, Running with Scissors, appeared in 1999, with Poodle Hat landing in 2003. Straight Outta Lynwood appeared in 2006 with the single "White & Nerdy," a suburban parody of Chamillionaire's hit "Ridin." ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
Alfred Matthew Yankovic was born October 23, 1959, in Lynwood, CA. An only child, he began playing the accordion at age seven, following in the tradition of polka star Frank Yankovic (no relation); in his early teens he became an avid fan of the Dr. Demento show, drawing inspiration from the parodies of Allan Sherman as well as the musical comedy of Spike Jones, Tom Lehrer, and Stan Freberg. In 1973 Demento spoke at Yankovic's school, where the 13 year old passed the radio host a demo tape of home recordings; three years later, Demento played Yankovic's "Belvedere Cruising" -- an accordion-driven pop song written about the family's Plymouth -- on the air, and his career was launched.
Yankovic quickly emerged as a staple of the Demento play list, recording a prodigious amount of tongue-in-cheek material throughout his high-school career. After graduation, he studied architecture; while attending California Polytechnic State University, he also joined the staff of the campus radio station, first adopting the nickname "Weird Al" and spinning a mixture of novelty and new wave hits. In 1979, the success of the Knack's monster hit "My Sharona" inspired Yankovic to record a parody dubbed "My Bologna"; not only was the song a smash with Demento fans, but it even found favor with the Knack themselves, who convinced their label, Capitol, to issue the satire as a single.
After graduating in 1980, Yankovic cut "Another One Rides the Bus," a parody of Queen's chart-topping "Another One Bites the Dust" recorded live in Dr. Demento's studios; the song became an underground hit, and Yankovic followed it up with "I Love Rocky Road," a satire of Joan Jett & the Blackhearts' "I Love Rock 'n Roll." After hooking up with noted session guitarist and producer Rick Derringer, he signed to Scotti Bros., which issued his debut LP, "Weird Al" Yankovic, in 1983. The album featured the song "Ricky," a tune inspired equally by Toni Basil's hit "Mickey" and the I Love Lucy television series; issued as a single, it hit the Top 100 charts, and its accompanying video became a staple of the fledgling MTV network.
Ultimately, much of Yankovic's success resulted from his skilled use of music video, a medium not available in the era of Spike Jones or Allan Sherman; suddenly, not only could records themselves serve as parody fodder, but their video clips were ripe for satire as well. Additionally, MTV firmly established Yankovic's public persona; sporting garish Hawaiian shirts, frizzy hair, and an arsenal of goofy mannerisms, he cut a distinctly bizarre figure which he consistently exploited to maximum comic effect. After Michael Jackson's "Beat It" became the most acclaimed video in the medium's brief history, Yankovic recorded "Eat It" for his sophomore effort, 1984's "Weird" Al Yankovic in 3-D; the "Eat It" video, which mocked the "Beat It" clip scene-for-scene, became an MTV smash, and the Grammy-winning single reached the Top 15.
In addition to "Eat It," In 3-D also launched the minor hits "King of Suede" (a rewrite of the Police's "King of Pain") and "I Lost on Jeopardy" (a send-up of the Greg Kihn Band's "Jeopardy"), as well as "Polkas on 45," the first in a series of medleys of pop hits recast as polka numbers. Dare to Be Stupid, the first comedy record ever released in the new compact disc format, followed in 1985, and featured "Like a Surgeon," a takeoff of the Madonna hit "Like a Virgin." Like its predecessor, Dare to Be Stupid went gold, but 1986's Polka Party! fared poorly and charted only briefly, prompting many to write off Yankovic's career.
However, in 1988, Yankovic returned with the platinum-selling Even Worse, its title and album cover a reference to Michael Jackson's recent Bad LP. "I'm Fat," the first single and video, also parodied the lavish Martin Scorsese-directed clip for Jackson's hit "Bad"; shot on the same subway set used by Jackson, the video -- which portrayed Yankovic as a grotesquely obese tough guy -- won him his second Grammy. The next year, he starred in the feature film UHF, which he also co-wrote; a soundtrack appeared as well.
After an extended period of silence, he returned in 1992 with Off the Deep End, which featured the Top 40 hit "Smells Like Nirvana," a send-up of Nirvana's landmark single "Smells Like Teen Spirit." After 1993's Alapalooza, he resurfaced in 1996 with Bad Hair Day, his highest-charting record to date thanks to the success of the single "Amish Paradise," a takeoff of the Coolio hit "Gangsta's Paradise." The follow-up, Running with Scissors, appeared in 1999, with Poodle Hat landing in 2003. Straight Outta Lynwood appeared in 2006 with the single "White & Nerdy," a suburban parody of Chamillionaire's hit "Ridin." ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
news
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alyankovic: Didn't see anybody famous sitting in First Class. If this plane crashes, I am TOTALLY getting the headline!
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- 11/20/2009
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- 6:06 PM
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- Twitter / alyankovic
- alyankovic: Didn't see anybody famous sitting in First Class. If this plane crashes, I am TOTALLY getting the headline!
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alyankovic: Did you know if you let the batteries in your Segway run all the way down, you can't re-charge them again? I do! Now. #1stworldproblems
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- 11/19/2009
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- 4:38 AM
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- Twitter / alyankovic
- alyankovic: Did you know if you let the batteries in your Segway run all the way down, you can't re-charge them again? I do! Now. #1stworldproblems
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alyankovic: Yes, in the name of shameless promotion I am sometimes coerced into making ridiculous lists: http://bit.ly/cLgbh
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- 11/17/2009
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- 6:36 PM
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- Twitter / alyankovic
- alyankovic: Yes, in the name of shameless promotion I am sometimes coerced into making ridiculous lists: http://bit.ly/cLgbh
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alyankovic: So sad - he was one of the nicest guys ever. RIP Ken Ober. http://bit.ly/1fmqb0
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- 11/17/2009
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- 2:12 AM
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- Twitter / alyankovic
- alyankovic: So sad - he was one of the nicest guys ever. RIP Ken Ober. http://bit.ly/1fmqb0
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alyankovic: I'll be guest D.J.-ing on L.A.'s 100.3 FM (The Sound) today at 6 PM Pacific time. http://thesoundla.com
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- 11/15/2009
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- 7:06 PM
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- Twitter / alyankovic
- alyankovic: I'll be guest D.J.-ing on L.A.'s 100.3 FM (The Sound) today at 6 PM Pacific time. http://thesoundla.com
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comments
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to all weird al haters...
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- By cheese7789
- 9/6/2009 16:59:49
- if you hate al because:
A) he is aking fun of micheal jackson
-rebuttle-
those were released in the 80s! WITH MJ's permission! and if he thought he was being made fun of, would he led al do it twice?
or
D) you dont like his style of music.
Style? you mean good? he has no particular style! listen to a polka, then 'all about the pentiums', then midnight star, and you will find no similarities in style! (exept for ALie goodness!)
ps. sry about typos. i dont spell properly to people this ignorant. you probably didnt notice the typos, did you?
B) he dosnt do anything origonal
-rebuttle-
what are you people talking about?!?! atleast 1/2 of his songs are completley origonAL! plus, style parodys are bretty much all him too. AND ONTOP OF THAT! when he does a parody, all that it comes with is the music!
C) because he has no talent
-rebuttle-
... no comment. because i find it rude to argue with the mentally challenged. - 1 out of 1 people
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CNR
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- By Amazing Rando
- 8/7/2009 14:43:42
- Love the new track! Great stuff. Keep it up.
- 1 out of 1 people
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f weird al
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- By CuteLollyPop
- 8/5/2009 13:49:59
- HE SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HE MAKEs FUN OF THE ONE< THE ONLY< MICHEAL JACKSON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! F HIM!
- 0 out of 6 people
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Don't forget Spike Jones...
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- By EARFORCEONE
- 6/17/2009 07:33:57
- Weird Al's lifelong influence... The greatest oddity/unusual/parody based musician from (1911-1965)Spike Jones or Spike Jones & His City Slickers
- Be the first person to rate this comment!
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Weird Al
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- By TheNewWorldMan4
- 6/13/2009 04:00:09
- He who is tired of Weird Al is tired of life.
- 5 out of 9 people
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